1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to a refrigerator and a cooling system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a refrigerant pipe which connects an evaporator to a compressor of the cooling system.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is well known to those skilled in the art, a cooling system circulates a refrigerant in an air conditioner or a refrigerator, and air is cooled by the refrigerant circulation cycle. The cooling system includes a refrigerant circulation unit and peripheral units.
The refrigerant circulation unit includes a compressor, a condenser, a pressure reducing unit, an evaporator, and a refrigerant pipe. In this case, the compressor functions to compress a refrigerant. The condenser condenses the compressed refrigerant, which is fed from the compressor. The pressure reducing unit reduces pressure of the condensed refrigerant after it leaves the condenser. The evaporator then evaporates the pressure-reduced refrigerant fed from the pressure reducing unit, thus absorbing heat from air in a space around the evaporator, which cools the air in that space. The refrigerant pipe connects the above-mentioned components to each other, thus providing a refrigerant path. In this case, the condenser and the evaporator serve as a heat exchanger. The refrigerant pipe comprises a copper pipe which has excellent corrosion-resistance and workability.
The cooling system also has peripheral units, including a condenser-side motored fan, an evaporator-side motored fan, and others. The condenser-side fan circulates air around the condenser to perform a heat exchange process. The evaporator-side fan circulates air around the evaporator to perform a heat exchange process. The condenser-side fan motor and the evaporator-side fan motor drive the condenser-side fan and the evaporator-side fan, respectively. The evaporator and the evaporator-side motored fan function to cool air around the evaporator, and they are hereinafter collectively referred to as a cooling set.
However, when a peripheral unit, such as a fan and/or a fan motor, breaks down, one or more of the components constituting the refrigerant circulation unit must be moved so as to replace or repair the malfunctioning peripheral unit. For example, when the motor for rotating the fan to circulate air in the evaporator malfunctions, it is necessary to move the evaporator by a predetermined distance so as to replace or repair the motor. In this case, after removing the evaporator from the refrigerant circulation unit in order to service the motor, the refrigerant is wholly removed from the refrigerant circulation unit. Then, the refrigerant is refilled into the refrigerant circulation unit after the assembly is completed, thus making the repair work complicated to perform, and causing a waste of the refrigerant. Therefore, it is desirable that, instead of removing the evaporator from the circulation unit, the evaporator is only moved by a predetermined distance without moving other components of the refrigerant circulation unit. However, such a method is problematic in that the greatest care of an operator is required, and the refrigerant pipe comprising a copper pipe may be bent or broken due to carelessness, in which case more involved maintenance may be required. Particularly, when the evaporator and the evaporator-side motored fan are assembled into a cooling set of a single structure and it is necessary to move the evaporator to replace or repair the peripheral unit, the above-mentioned problems occur more frequently.